Top 25 Injured Players to Stash: Fantasy Baseball Week 20

Welcome back RotoBallers to another weekly edition of the Injured Players to Stash for Fantasy Baseball series, as we prepare for Week 20 of the 2024 MLB season. Today we list the top 25 high-profile injured MLB players who are worthy of a continued spot on your roster while imploring you to pick up lesser-rostered players who could help you, like Nolan Jones or Tommy Edman.

When productive players are injured, some fantasy folks will be forced to dump them to the waiver wire, depending on league rules and context. This represents an opportunity for you, especially if you have room on your bench to stash an injured hitter or pitcher cheaply now before they come back on the radar. Always remember that humans get frustrated easily when things aren't going their way, and owners losing patience with an injured player can represent a golden opportunity for you to pounce on productive players in the right deal.

We look to Yahoo! for the roster percentages and will highlight five key players nearing a return who could be under the radar right now. Below is my list of 25 players who are injured, and have their status and injuries listed to keep handy for you.

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Top-25 Injured Players for Fantasy Baseball

Fantasy Baseball Players to Monitor Closely

Merrill Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks

Rostered: 69% Yahoo!
Estimated Return: Early August 

I drafted Kelly for my Tout Wars team and felt good about rostering him until the shoulder issue popped up. It's a barren landscape in that league for starting pitching, so I held on to him with one of the coveted IL spots. He's rostered in many leagues, but Kelly might be a guy you want to roster now. He's making a rehab start Tuesday and the goal is 65 pitches or four innings. Rumor had it that if all goes well, he might only make the one start before re-entering the fray for the Diamondbacks. Kelly has only made four starts for Arizona this year, but seemed well on his way to having a good year: two wins, a 2.19 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and 21 strikeouts in 24 innings. The chart below shows Kelly's hard-hit percentage over the years. When he got hurt he was in the 98th percentile for that category. Roster him this week and bolster the middle section of your rotation.

Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers 

Rostered: 90%  Yahoo!
Estimated Return: mid-August? 

Greene was another player many were high on coming into this year, and the All-Star has not disappointed with his performance. Greene is hitting .264 with a surprising 17 home runs, 51 RBI, four stolen bases, and 57 runs scored in 427 plate appearances. The only knock, if you want one, is the stolen base total. Many fantasy players thought he might run more. He was back doing work on the field over the weekend and could return soon. If you need an outfield boost and he is available on the waiver wire, snag him. Folks in your league could be tired of waiting on him, become impatient, and be willing to trade him. A small investment could yield dividends. What more could you want? The Statcast is blood-red in most categories.

Nolan Jones, Colorado Rockies 

Rostered: 49% Yahoo!
Estimated Return: this week 

Is there a bigger lightning rod in fantasy baseball than Jones? His breakout last year was fueled by a tremendous second half in Colorado that some viewed as unsustainable. People saw the 20/20 potential (which he had last year) and ignored the metrics that said he might struggle this year. Well, the naysayers have it right now. Jones is hitting .202 with three home runs and three stolen bases in 191 plate appearances, a far cry from his .297/20/62/60/20 line from last season. Back trouble has limited Jones this season, but he should be back this week and have some runway in Colorado to right the ship. One thing I think we often forget in this game is that so much relies on players having clear and real opportunities. Do not throw the towel in on Jones yet, as he could be a productive player down the stretch this year.

Mason Miller, Oakland Athletics

Rostered: 87% Yahoo!
Estimated Return: Early August

This is a no-brainer, as Miller has been the equivalent of a video game cheat code when healthy. He threw over the weekend without the cast on his fractured left pinky and could return by the end of this week. All he has done this year: one win, 15 saves, a 2.21 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP, and a whopping 70 strikeouts in 40 innings. There has been some talk of limiting him down the stretch in Oakland, which might make some of your league mates twitchy. Grab him if you can. With gaps at the All-Star break and now being off for 10 days, Miller should be pretty fresh for the second half of the season, and perhaps the Oakland brass decide to keep using him as their closer. The only thing you might not like in this profile is the walk percentage at 9.2%, but I think you'll agree that is offset by the 45.8% K%. Egads! See for yourself below.

Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia Phillies 

Rostered: 91% Yahoo!
Estimated Return: Mid-August (estimated)

Suarez has 10 wins on the season to go with a 2.87 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and 116 strikeouts in 119 innings. He's been one of the aces of the league-leading Philadelphia Phillies. Yet he's coming off a bad July where he was 0-3 with a 6.61 ERA and 1.53 WHIP. How much of that was due to the back injury? It is hard to say, but at least some of it would seem to be the case. He threw a side session last weekend that went well, but the team announced that he would not be ready to be activated this week when he is first eligible. Because of that news, he is being dropped in places where players need the IL spot for someone else. Should someone have grown impatient because of the news, this is a good time to sweep in with an offer to see if you can roster Suarez for the rest of the season. I would guess that he is only slightly delayed and back sooner despite the news on Monday.

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